Horse Thief Canyon dam, Kansas

Horse Thief Canyon
Dam and Reservoir
Hodgeman County, Kansas
J.S. and S.W. Aber
Brenda Zabriskie

Introduction (2009)

Horse Thief Canyon dam is the newest large reservoir construction project underway in Kansas, located on Buckner Creek in Hodgeman County in the west-central part of the state. The dam and eventual lake are located next to K-156 state highway a few miles west of Jetmore. The project is funded by a special sales tax approved in 2005 by voters in four adjacent counties of the drainage basin--Hodgeman, Ford, Finney, and Gray. For more information, see Horse Thief Reservoir.

The authors have toured the surroundings before and have wanted to acquire KAP at this site for the past few years. Finally JSA was able to visit in mid-May '09 and conduct solo KAP under mostly clearly sky with a moderate breeze from the north. KAP took place at a small public viewing area on the northeastern corner of the construction site, so the kite carried toward the construction area. A small (11-foot) delta kite was used to lift the Canon S70 camera rig.

A traditional stone fence post marks the public viewing area for construction of Horsethief Canyon dam, which can be seen in the background. Also note the GPS survey station used for contruction measurements (detail to right).

Buckner Creek is a spring-fed stream that arises along the margin of the High Plains (to the west) and flows eastward through the Blue Hills region. Ground water from the High Plains aquifer supplies the springs. In recent years, however, ground water has diminished due largely to pumping for irrigation, and recurring droughts have reduced surface stream flows. The long-term success of the lake is open to serious question given the small size of Buckner Creek and its drainage basin as well as limited surface and ground water in the semiarid climate. Nonetheless, the dam is under construction, and we will know in a few years whether the lake fills.

Kite aerial photographs
Overview toward the northwest. The project management office can be seen in the far distance next the K-156 state highway.
Closeup shot of the center of the dam. The previous channel of Buckner Creek is visible in lower center of view, now completely blocked by the dam.
Overview of central dam construction. Buckner Creek can be seen in the background (behind dam), and its now-blocked channel continues to the lower right side of view. A new outlet tower is visible behind the dam on left side.
View toward southwest. The outlet tower connects under the dam to a new outlet chute on the left side. Parts of the old Buckner Creek channel are visible in lower right and left corners.
Southern portion of the dam. Flow from the outlet chute connects to Buckner Creek channel on left side. Chalk bedrock is exposed along the old creek channel in lower left portion of scene.
View southeastward, looking downstream across Buckner Creek valley. Prairie grassland and crop fields can be seen; trees follow the creek channel.

**Kite aerial photographs**
	Overview toward the northwest. The project management office can be seen in the far distance next the K-156 state highway.
	Closeup shot of the center of the dam. The previous channel of Buckner Creek is visible in lower center of view, now completely blocked by the dam.
	Overview of central dam construction. Buckner Creek can be seen in the background (behind dam), and its now-blocked channel continues to the lower right side of view. A new outlet tower is visible behind the dam on left side.
	View toward southwest. The outlet tower connects under the dam to a new outlet chute on the left side. Parts of the old Buckner Creek channel are visible in lower right and left corners.
	Southern portion of the dam. Flow from the outlet chute connects to Buckner Creek channel on left side. Chalk bedrock is exposed along the old creek channel in lower left portion of scene.
	View southeastward, looking downstream across Buckner Creek valley. Prairie grassland and crop fields can be seen; trees follow the creek channel.

Overview looking southward. The dam outlet appears on the right side. In the center distance is the emergency overflow spillway. The county road has been diverted around this spillway in the right background. May 2009.

Update (2010)

In May 2010 officials announced that Horse Thief Canyon reservoir was filling faster than expected due to exceptionally heavy spring rain. The surface area of the lake had reached 60% of its eventual full size. Once again we visited (JSA & BZ) for kite aerial photography. We found the public viewing area had been removed and access to the site was completely blocked by construction and warning signs. Fortunately we found a public road along the northwestern side of the construction area where we could send up a large rokkaku kite with the Canon S70 camera rig.

Panoramic view looking southeastward at scene center. The dam appears in the left background, and Buckner Creek feeds into the reservoir from the right background. The boat ramp area is under construction just left of scene center. Assembled from two wide-angle shots; May 2010.